Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 4, 2026

Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass with Low-cost Ionic Liquids
Published on: August 10, 2016
Lubrication of starch in ionic liquid-water mixtures: Soluble carbohydrate polymers form a boundary film on
Gleb E Yakubov1, Lei Zhong2, Ming Li3
1Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
Abstract:
Soluble starch polymers are shown to enhance the lubrication of ionic liquid-water solvent mixtures in low-pressure tribological contacts between hydrophobic substrates. A fraction of starch polymers become highly soluble in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIMAc)-water solvents with ionic liquid fraction ≥60wt%. In 65wt% EMIMAc, a small amount of soluble starch (0.33wt%) reduces the boundary friction coefficient by up to a third in comparison to that of the solvent. This low-friction is associated with a nanometre thick film (ca. 2nm) formed from the amylose fraction of the starch. In addition, under conditions where there is a mixture of insoluble starch particles and solubilised starch polymers, it is found that the presence of dissolved amylose enhances the lubrication of starch suspensions between roughened substrates. These findings open up the possibility of utilising starch biopolymers, as well as other hydrocolloids, for enhancing the performance of ionic liquid lubricants.
More Related Videos
06:31Highly Stereoselective Synthesis of 1,6-Ketoesters Mediated by Ionic Liquids: A Three-component Reaction Enabling Rapid Access to a New Class of Low Molecular Weight Gelators
Published on: November 27, 2015
11:04Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Intermolecular Forces in Solutions
When the strengths of the intermolecular forces of attraction between solute and solvent species in a solution are no different than those present in the separated components, the solution is formed with no accompanying energy change. Such a solution is called an ideal solution. A mixture of ideal gases (or gases such as helium and argon,...
Solubility of Ionic Compounds
The Colloidal State
Intermolecular Forces
Solubility
A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of a solvent, the major component, and a solute, the minor component. The physical state of a solution—solid, liquid, or gas—is typically the same as that of the solvent. Solute concentrations are often described with qualitative terms such as dilute (of relatively low concentration) and concentrated (of relatively high concentration).
In a solution, the solute particles (molecules,...
Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration
When ionic compounds dissolve in water, the ions in the solid separate and disperse uniformly throughout the solution because water molecules surround and solvate the ions, reducing the strong electrostatic forces between them. This process...